Daily Archives: March 5, 2009

Here are a few Science Fiction/Fantasy tidbits I picked up on the smoke-signal network recently.

Like a ship wandering through the seas of Hollywood, it looked like Narnia sequel The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was going to be lost as Disney debated dropping the property after The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian didn’t do quite as well as they’d hoped. Well, apparently they’ve been steered to the correct port, because we now have a release date. Moving back to a winter opening, the third film in the series is now scheduled to launch on December 10, 2010.

I hope this one does well enough to continue the series. I’d love to see the full set realized on screen.

Smallville has been renewed for a ninth season. Is that a good thing?

I’ve made no secret that I thought they should have ended the series at the last two season finales. This show has been on its last legs for three years. There is hope, though, that the ninth season may be worthwhile. Here’s why:

Michael Rosenbaum is rumored to be considering a return to the show to reprise his role as Lex Luthor next year.

Kristen Kreuk’s Lana Lang is essentially out of the picture (though there’s still that annoying option for guest appearances).

Sam Witmer has not yet been signed for next season, so his run could be up as Doomsday by the season finale this year.

If the rumur is true and Lex is to return, and they keep Lana out of the way, they could salvage the show. With Lex gone totally over the edge he could run Clark ragged all season, leading to his final emergence as Superman (and perhaps the incarceration of Lex).

“Oh, but Lex is dead!” you say. You gotta be kidding me. Lex doesn’t get punked by the Arrow, I don’t care how much evidence there is.

Green Lantern - First Flight

Speaking of super-heroes…

I mentioned before that the Green Lantern movie is on its way through early production stages. That has not changed.

What I hadn’t heard before is that we’re also getting an animated Lantern film.

This is another in the Bruce Timm line of animated films. Timm has been responsible for the best animated superhero offerings in the last 20 years (except for Pixar’s “The Incredibles”). On TV and DVD, Timm has brought Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the entire Justice League to life. The man gets it.

The new film focuses on the Hal Jordan character and recounts his entry into the Lantern Corps under the tutelage of Sinestro, the discovery of Sinestro’s duplicity, and Jordan’s subsequent growth into a protector not just of Earth but of the entire Lantern Corps.

Hal Jordan will be voiced by Christoper Meloni of Law and Order: SVU fame. Tricia Helfer, “Six” from Battlestar Galactica, also lends her voice to the production.

The two disc set looks like it will be pretty good. In addition to the standard extras (featurettes, etc.), the second disc will also include at least two episodes of Justice League, chosen by Bruce Timm.

Sounds good to me. I’m in.

Finally, in Doctor Who news, the TARDIS gets a makeover.

When Matt Smith takes over as the new Doctor next year, he’ll apparently reconfigure the interior of the TARDIS. This is far from the first time the look of the ship has changed, but it is a novelty in the rebooted series.

The outside of the blue box will apparently get a polish, to ready it for HD, but will look essentially the same.

According to an unnamed source, â€œIt will be the most hitech, intricate TARDIS ever.â€ Sounds interesting.